A clicker is a craftsperson who cuts the hide for a shoe, judging which direction to cut the leather in, and how the piece of hide they are working with will stretch to fit a foot perfectly when creating our footwear.

The placing of patterns on carefully selected skins takes a great deal of specialist skill and expertise. Leather has specific stretch qualities that need to be considered and each section of the uppers must be cut in a specific direction to maintain their shape while working around possible flaws, scars or brand marks and keeping waste to a minimum. A clicker uses clicking patterns and clicking knives to cut uppers and linings, often shaping their blades to their personal preference and will change blade shapes depending on the type of leather to be cut.

The term ‘clicking’ is derived from the noise the cutting blade makes when exiting the leather and striking the brass-bound edge of a pattern when cutting by hand.